Diabetes is a disease with complications. No organ is spared if diabetes is badly controlled. Uncontrolled diabetes complications not only affect eyes, nerves, kidneys, and heart, but the blood vessels of the body, sexual urges, skin, feet, and even the brain. The kidneys affect the other organs as well. 

Other major uncontrolled diabetes complications are increased chances of infections and non-healing of wounds. Tuberculosis, pneumonia, and pus formation in the body (septicemia) are more common in people with diabetes than in normal individuals.

Here are some of the uncontrolled diabetes complications.

• 50% of diabetics develop diabetic neuropathy, often without early symptoms.
• Diabetes increases the risk of hearing loss due to nerve damage.
• Diabetic dermopathy causes light brown, scaly patches on the skin.
• Diabetic foot ulcers lead to about 15% of non-traumatic limb amputations.
• Diabetes increases the risk of depression and anxiety.
• Diabetic pregnant women face risks like preeclampsia.

The inner lining of tiny arteries throughout the body is weakened by diabetes. An angiopathy describes this condition. The coronary arteries are also susceptible to angiopathy—coronary endothelium membrane injury or coronary artery occlusion. Since blockages form slowly in damaged locations, over time, coronary heart disease may manifest. These clogs progress rapidly, causing heart damage in a very little period.

In those with diabetes, a protracted blockage is a norm. The arteries get blocked in more than one place.

Patients with diabetes and heart problems are particularly at risk for developing neuropathy, which causes them to lose some or all of their sense of touch. It’s possible they won’t feel any discomfort in their chest. They are just aware of a lack of air. Nighttime leg burning is a common complaint among sleepers. Because of neuropathy, this occurs. 

Nerve conduction investigations aid in the diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy. Different types of neuropathy, including autonomic neuropathy, affect many individuals. When someone with this condition stands up, their blood pressure drops dramatically.

The effects of diabetes on your eyes may range from the mild blurring of vision to the potentially blinding condition known as retinopathy (damage to the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye). Here are some common diabetic eye diseases.

Cataracts and other visual problems may develop. Cataracts are more likely to form on your lens because of sugar accumulation.

Diabetes damages retinal micro arteries, the blood vessels that supply retina with nourishment. Micro aneurysms, or blisters, develop and rupture, perhaps causing little bleeding. Sometimes, fluid leaks out of blood vessels and collects on the retina’s surface. It forms hard exudates. 

After retinopathy has progressed to a severe state, the body may try to remedy the inadequate blood flow by generating brand-new blood vessels. It is possible for these new blood vessels to burst, resulting in severe bleeding. A vitreous hemorrhage is a disorder that may severely impair one’s vision.

Diabetic retinopathy is a common and occasionally debilitating illness that may affect people with diabetes for a long time. Routine health checks have the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Type I diabetics should get a thorough physical during the first five years following their diagnosis and then annually afterward. After being diagnosed with type II diabetes, patients should be checked annually.

Any person with diabetes should not neglect routine eye exams. Early detection of diabetic retinopathy requires a thorough eye examination by an ophthalmologist. However, doctors may detect not all symptoms of diabetic retinopathy with a routine eye checkup. Laser or surgical intervention may treat retinopathy. 

Small retinal burns that close off leaky vessels are generated during laser therapy. When treating retinopathy, the amount of burns performed by the doctor varies. It may take many months for treatment to start working. 

Surgery may be necessary if laser therapy cannot improve your condition. You may reduce diabetic retinopathy with blood sugar management and periodic eye examinations. Avoiding retinal damage is not always possible, even with the best medical treatment. 

As a result of insulin deficiency, kidney tissues in diabetes patients produce less of the hormone, leading to high blood sugar levels. Because of this, the cells cannot fully use this sugar. You must stabilize one’s blood sugar levels before you may treat diabetic Nephropathy. The kidneys’ function as massive blood filters includes excreting waste materials and excess water. 

The buildup of glucose in the capillaries that make up the filters in diabetes might cause further harm to them. It has the same effect as expanding the pores in a tea strainer. Substances that kidneys ordinarily keep are excreted in the urine due to the injury.

If more than 80% of a kidney is destroyed due to diabetes, kidney failure, also known as diabetic Nephropathy, will develop. It will be the case even if only 15-20% of the kidney is functioning.

Microalbumin loss in diabetic urine disrupts the normal functioning of the kidney’s Alteration process, which causes kidney damage overtime. That’s the first sign of renal failure. Diabetic nephropathy describes this condition as it manifests. Pedal edema and other symptoms of fluid retention often occur in these situations. Tests may detect a rise in serum creatinine and blood urea overtime.

High blood glucose levels may harm sensory, motor, and autonomic neurons. The glands and organs get their orders from the brain and spinal cord through the autonomic nervous system. The voluntary muscles get their commands from the brain through motor nerves. Sensations from the skin and internal organs are sent via sensory nerves to the brain.

Neuropathy refers to the nerve damage that has occurred. The effects of diabetes on nerves might vary depending on which nerves are being affected by the condition. Having diabetes may have a double whammy for your nervous system. High blood glucose may harm the nerves by cutting off blood flow to them, as it does the eyes and kidneys, or by damaging the nerves themselves.

While doctors cannot cure diabetic neuropathy, it may be managed using therapeutic strategies, such as monitoring for feeling while sleeping. We may medicate them with sleep aids, and we can administer medications if they’re experiencing nerve discomfort.

Leg injuries are another common complication of diabetes with neuropathy. As a result, diabetes patients who sustain leg injuries must utilize leg supports or always wear supportive footwear. Neurobion, also called the neuro vitamin, is another sort of neuro-vitamin he may take. Injectable formulations of these are available. Vitamin B-complex is another option.

A regular erection relies on the blood flowing freely via the arteries to the penis and on a fully functioning nerve system to contract the veins draining away from it. Diabetes may impair both the blood flow to the penis and the neurological regulation of vein constriction .

Damage to the skin’s tiny blood arteries may lead people with diabetes in a minority subset of their population to have skin issues. This ailment, also known as necrobiosis lipoidica, manifests itself as reddening and thinning of the skin around the lower shin bones when it takes place.

If you have diabetes, you have an increased chance of developing hardening of the big blood vessels, often known as the arteries, which may lead to impaired circulation in the legs and heart attacks and strokes. Diabetes also increases your risk of having kidney disease. You must refrain from smoking and maintain a healthy weight to reduce the risk as much as possible.

When circulation is reduced due to blood vessels growing smaller, your foot can deal less with risks such as exposure to cold weather, illness, or damage. The nerves in the foot get damaged, which causes the foot to become less responsive to pain and temperature. It might cause a burning feeling in many people.

When the capacity of your foot to feel is diminished, you are less likely to detect unintentional injuries or infections that, if left untreated, can lead to increased damage. It puts you at a greater risk of experiencing more severe consequences. It’s also possible that your feet feel dry. The last stage of diabetic gangrene, in which amputations are occasionally necessary, is diabetic gangrene.

A potentially fatal consequence of diabetes that most often affects the legs is yet another significant complication of the disease. Diabetes patients whose disease is inadequately managed often suffer from this condition. In patients with poorly controlled diabetes, the healing process of wounds, particularly those in the legs, is slowed. 

It results in a lot of difficulties. Due to poor management of their diabetes, many patients had to have their legs amputated. In conjunction with that, there is a possibility that it may lead to death.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is one of the most severe consequences that may arise from diabetes that is not well managed. It shows that the body’s metabolic processes have been thrown off. Ketone bodies are formed when acidic molecules in the blood undergo a metabolic process. As a direct consequence, there is an abrupt rise in the levels of ketone bodies, which raises the risk of diabetic coma. In this scenario, the affected individual will also begin to smell like ammonia.

Upon closer inspection, these ketone bodies will be found in the urine. Patients diagnosed with this condition should be treated with an alkali, such as sodium bicarbonate or another alkali. Intravenous administration of sodium bicarbonate is an option. In addition, rapid insulin treatment is required to bring the blood sugar level under control. However, it is essential to bear in mind that the level of glucose in the blood should not drop too quickly.

The combination of high blood pressure and diabetes harms the heart. Therefore, people with diabetes are required to have extremely good control of their blood pressure. They need to lose weight to accomplish this goal, resulting in a natural decrease in their blood pressure. They should also get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, such as walking since this helps decrease blood pressure. 

Meditation and other stress management techniques are essential to successful blood pressure management. A person must begin taking medication if their blood pressure is not managed to the level of 120/80 mmHg. In the long run, doctors may prescribe further medicines if the patient’s blood pressure is not under control.

Foot injury is a major consequence of diabetes. If the damage to the foot is extensive enough, gangrene may set in, and the person will need to have their foot amputated. This condition is caused by the damage that angiopathy does to the very small blood arteries in the body. It results in decreased oxygen and blood flow to the cells at the extremities, particularly the tips of the toes and fingers. 

If an injury happens there, necrosis sets in, and the person has foot difficulties. After suffering a foot injury, many individuals have an extremely hard time recovering. Diabetic foot occurs when an injury to the foot occurs as a result of wearing new shoes or experiencing an accident involving the foot.

Someone with diabetes has to pay extra attention to their lower extremities.

Wear shoes that have a solid sole and a heel and toe box. A good pair of house slippers would be crafted from leather or another durable material. Forego shoes are probably not smart, even if you’re lounging about the home.

Take caution not to injure yourself when trimming your toenails. Ingrown toenails may occur if the nails are trimmed in a curved or angled shape. With the help of an emery board or pumice stone, you may buff off rough spots like corns and calluses.

Apply a gauze pad to any blisters on your feet. Leave it alone; you won’t have any luck breaking it. Small cuts and scrapes to the feet should be cleaned with warm water and mild soap and bandaged. Avoid using iodine and other powerful medications. Reduce the amount of time you spend on your feet.

It is recommended that you wash your feet with warm water and a light soap once a day for proper foot care. Never use boiling water. Make sure you dry your feet completely, particularly in between your toes. As you dry them, please give them a thorough once-over to check for signs of damage like redness, dryness, or cracking.

Extremely high blood sugar levels are a breeding ground for bacteria in people with diabetes. In the event of an infection, too much sugar in the blood might cause bacteria to replicate rapidly. When this happens, wounds take longer to heal. A diabetic wound may take up to a month to heal, compared to 2-3 days in a healthy individual without the disease. Diabetes is often diagnosed when wounds don’t heal properly.

Reduced blood sugar levels, medically known as hypoglycemia, are dangerous. It’s characterized by an unexpected need for food with other symptoms like a sense of dread or nausea and vomiting. First, it’s important to figure out what brought on the hypo, such as skipping meals after taking a pill or insulin shot or working up a sweat without eating.

Immediately upon diagnosis of hypoglycemia, glucose should be administered to restore normal blood sugar levels. Lots of sweets are available there, too. If you don’t need to raise your blood sugar level immediately, you may consume anything that will do it within 5-10 minutes. However, intravenous dextrose (sugar) may be required in extreme circumstances.

Diabetic enteropathy is characterized by intestinal injury. It is because of angiopathy, a condition in which the tiny arteries that feed blood to the gut get damaged.

No. Suppose you regulate your blood sugar levels by eating plenty of salads and green vegetables high in fiber and limiting or avoiding sugary meals. In that case, you won’t have to worry about the problems with your health that might develop as a consequence of having diabetes. Problems associated with diabetes might develop quickly if blood sugar levels aren’t managed. 

Even if you think your blood sugar level is under control, you should still have your glycosylated hemoglobin checked every three months; a value of less than 7% suggests satisfactory management.

A well-controlled condition is essential for avoiding or postponing uncontrolled diabetes complications, and the best way to do this is to live a healthy lifestyle. You may treat diabetes in a variety of ways. You must eat a well-balanced diet and engage in at least 150 minutes of physical exercise every week (just 30 minutes, five days a week). Do an A1C test to consistently monitor his blood sugar levels the previous two to three months and maintain a healthy average. In addition, try hard to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg or whatever target your doctor has set for him. 

Take steps to decrease your cholesterol. If you do, quit smoking. It’s also likely that the doctor would recommend medications to help you maintain appropriate glucose levels, blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides in your body.